Santa Ana Teachers Protest Funding Shift in State Budget

​Teachers from the Santa Ana Unified School District are among educators from 13 low-income school systems protesting at the Capitol in Sacramento right now over funding that may be lost with the enactment of the 2009-2010 state budget.

The Quality Education and Investment Act was established in 2006 to provide additional resources to help eligible low-performing schools reduce class sizes, provide more support to students and increase student achievement. More than $402 million from the state's general fund has gone to the QEIA since its formation.

The current budget includes a one-time funding swap for QEIA, and without legislative action teachers from the effected schools fear that their districts will be penalized financially. Today's protest, which continues until 3 p.m., is aimed at getting assurances from legislators that such penalties will not be assessed against the state's poorer districts.